Patanjali in his Yoga sutras has laid out eight fold path for enlightenment The first step is Yama loosely translated as discipline This means tuning yourself to the ultimate it is not a set of dos and don ts It is a set of instructions to tune yourself to your Self Within this Yama the first step is Ahimsa Ahimsa means non violence with understanding Ahimsa is not a moral condition but a technique If you are established in non violence even wild animals when they face you will turn peaceful You will radiate love and compassion Patanjali says If

• To Love is to be non violent

Patanjali in his Yoga sutras has laid out eight fold path for enlightenment. The first step is Yama: loosely translated as discipline. This means tuning yourself to the ultimate; it is not a set of dos and don’ts. It is a set of instructions to tune yourself to your Self. Within this Yama the first step is Ahimsa. Ahimsa means non violence with understanding; Ahimsa is not a moral condition but a technique. If you are established in non violence, even wild animals, when they face you, will turn peaceful. You will radiate love and compassion. Patanjali says: If a man is established in non violence, in his presence, enemies and animals will drop their animosity and radiate love. Sankara, the great enlightened master,  walked all over India on foot, village to village, begged door to door for food, and lived with the common man, to update himself with what was happening around him. This was required of him as a teacher, as a master. As he went he learnt from various masters, universities, and temples which are spiritual universities. He wanted to create his own University to spread his message of advaita (non-dualism), where the energy of love will speak.  In a forest on a full moon night as it drizzled he saw a frog about to hatch its baby and a cobra spreading its hood to protect the frog from the rain; frogs and cobras are born as natural enemies; when Sankara saw this he decided here’s where I should have my University where animals lose their enmity, and pure oneness and love starts happening. Once you experience this love you will never be violent; non violence, ahimsa, will happen to you. When we are established in love nothing touches us. We do not need to defend ourselves against anything. Defending is what creates the thought of offending. All countries say that they have armies only to defend themselves. Who then is offending?  The more you try to defend you enter into offense. Violence starts. Violence starts with defense. This is what Jesus meant when he said to turn the other cheek when someone slaps you. What he said is not impractical. This can be practiced. What have we achieved by protecting ourselves, except suffering? On the other hand, if you radiate love, you will be a God on planet Earth.  Can you defend yourself against death? By defending yourself you may add some years to your life; by trusting, by loving you will add life to your years.  What would you like to do, add years to your life or add life to your years?

We all believe that without the mind we cannot function In fact we function better without the mind When any of our senses perceive an object say your eye seeing a flower it is the energy behind that sensor called chakshu that comes into play Chakshu is a digital signal processor which creates a digital image of the flower and sends it to our memory This part of our mind called chitta has the ability to filter the information by comparing it other images on its data base The partly processed information is then sent to another part of the

• How the mind works?

We all believe that without the mind we cannot function. In fact we function better without the mind. When any of our senses perceive an object, say your eye seeing a flower, it is the energy behind that sensor, called chakshu that comes into play. Chakshu is a digital signal processor which creates a digital image of the flower and sends it to our memory. This part of our mind called chitta has the ability to filter the information by comparing it other images on its data base. The partly processed information is then sent to another part of the mind called manas which makes a positive identification. Even with all the computing power available today, this kind of optical identification which even a child can do, is not yet practical. Up to this point, the activities of sensory perception and identification of that experience are conscious processes. Once the identification is done, the file moves to ego, another part of the mind, which stores all our past experiences backed up with emotions. These emotion filled experiences are our samskara, and ego is their warehouse. The jump from manas to ego is an unconscious process. Ego decides for you. You express that decision and act upon that decision. This zone of ego is not under the control of your conscious, logical and rational mind. Ego never sleeps, not for one moment. Samskara drives you to take illogical, unconscious and irrational decisions. For instance, a person decides to smoke knowing fully well that it is bad for health. His action is driven by his samskara, his desire that is unfulfilled. Samskara confuses you, depresses you, disturbs you, stresses you and can kill you. This process of perception and identification of what you perceive, the process that happens between your eyes and your mind happens with your awareness, consciously. However, the process the information file takes between your mind and your ego happens without your awareness; it happens unconsciously. This process is instinctive, a legacy from our sub-human origins. It is a much faster process since the unconscious mind processes data far faster than the conscious mind, and was designed for life threatening emergencies. The only way to make this process of transfer conscious and meaningful is by bringing in awareness through meditation. Meditation dissolves samskara, frees from suffering. • PARAMAHAMSA SRI NITHYANANDA

Ananda means bliss Nanda is something that can die out disappear and related to suffering Ananda is that which can never disappear from your being it is bliss It is not joy Joy brings suffering in its wake Ananda is beyond joy It is eternal bliss Nithya ananda Pleasure is what you feel through your senses based on an outer object music a fragrance a beautiful sight physical touch When you meet nature a mountain a sea a forest you feel joy When you feel ecstasy without sensory inputs or nature not even inputs of forms of God only from

• Meditation- “Arise,Awake,STOP:Goal is reached”

“Ananda” means bliss. “Nanda” is something that can die out, disappear and related to suffering. Ananda is that which can never disappear from your being, it is bliss. It is not joy. Joy brings suffering in its wake. Ananda is beyond joy. It is eternal bliss, Nithya ananda. Pleasure is what you feel through your senses based on an outer object; music, a fragrance, a beautiful sight, physical touch. When you meet nature, a mountain, a sea, a forest, you feel joy. When you feel ecstasy without sensory inputs or nature, not even inputs of forms of God, only from your inner core of energy, your atman, without any external input, it is bliss. It can be with no reason. It comes from within your being. That is Ananda. Yoga: it’s important to understand what yoga is not. Yoga is not physical exercises or breath control; these are but a part of Yoga. Yoga is union; the union with the divine; union with the cosmic power. It is chitta vritti nirodaha: it’s the cessation of the mind, to take it beyond the mind, to be one with existence. The blissful technique to unite your own self with the divine is ananda yoga, using bliss itself to unite. Life has no goal, it has only purpose. Living has a purpose. If  life is a goal it’s a rat race; even when you win this race you are still a rat. The very living is bliss when you go without a goal, only with a purpose of enjoying the path. You cannot look at God as a goal. You cannot run towards God. In inner world, logic is very different. Goals are not reached by running towards them. Vivekananda says: Arise, awake, and do not stop till the goal is reached. I say: arise, awake, stop; goal is reached. Seeking makes you tense, will make you miss your purpose. In a relaxation course you are so tense that you lose the purpose. I say accept all guilt, all mistakes, and all failures; even if you cannot accept, accept that you cannot accept. You will then relax; guilt will drop from your mind. If your mind is tense it can never stop. Only when you relax it can cease. You have to drop goal orientation. If you accept what you are, what is, mind will lose its roots- Meditation just happens. When mind is, bliss is not. It is either mind or bliss. -Paramahamsa Nithyananda

Mind is in constant inner chatter It starts as soon as you wake up If you record all of your inner chatter you need a recorder for all your waking hours say hours All this chatter creates problems unconsciously You are comparing yourself unfavourably with others Of these hours of tape all spoken by you why don t you convert the chatter to give you positiveness and freedom No man is so poor that he cannot create words that create bliss We are not poor in capacity only in consciousness This hours of tape are of our karmic system Let

• “Log out” of your inner chatter!

Mind is in constant inner chatter. It starts as soon as you wake up. If you record all of your inner chatter you need a recorder for all your waking hours, say 15 hours. All this chatter creates problems unconsciously. You are comparing yourself unfavourably with others. Of these 15 hours of tape, all spoken by you, why don’t you convert the chatter to give you positiveness and freedom? No man is so poor that he cannot create words that create bliss. We are not poor in capacity, only in consciousness. This 15 hours of tape are of our karmic system. Let at least ten hours of tape create freedom in you, to start with. When all 15 hours give you freedom from chatter, you have reached liberation or live enlightenment. Now your mind is locked into one space, as an engineer, as a doctor, whatever; you cannot touch any other part. All of you are endowed with memory of past life, yet you do not recollect. Why? That’s because you are so caught up in this life’s memories. If you can come out of, relax from, your mind, you can enter all sections of your mind. You can log in and log out. As of now you can only log in partly since you are afraid to log out. Is it possible to log out, walk out of inner chatter? Asks Buddha: when you have the capacity to create, don’t you have the capacity to walk out? Unconsciously you invite suffering. When everything is right you look for trouble. A guy living by a railway track is so used to the noise of trains that he wakes up if he cannot hear the sound. You are so habituated to the incessant inner chatter of worry that if it stops you miss it. If your worries are reduced you lose your importance. This world runs not because of us, but in spite of us. Let us be a little more intelligent and use words that liberate us instead of making us addicted. Napoleon on his deathbed told his subordinates: place my hands out of the coffin so that people will know that even the great Emperor Napoleon carried nothing with him when he left this world. When you drop your cravings, they may get fulfilled. When you keep craving even if they get fulfilled you are not content. Choose between filling and fulfilment. PARAMAHAMSA  NITHYANANDA

There was a popular song a while ago that went Don t worry be happy It became an instant hit and no wonder We all have a laundry list of worries all the time It is very difficult for us to predict when we are likely to be joyful but very easy to say when we shall be worried which is almost all the time We worry when we have no money we also worry when we have money We worry if we have no children we also worry when we have children as our children quite often are the

• Don’t worry, be happy

There was a popular song a while ago that went: Don’t worry, be happy. It became an instant hit, and no wonder. We all have a laundry list of worries all the time. It is very difficult for us to predict when we are likely to be joyful, but very easy to say when we shall be worried, which is almost all the time. We worry when we have no money; we also worry when we have money. We worry if we have no children; we also worry when we have children, as our children quite often are the cause of problems, especially when they emulate us. Worry follows desires just as night follows day. Just as desires have no end, worries too are endless. John went to a restaurant and ordered one of each item on the menu. With great enjoyment he ate all that was brought to him. After he finished with his dessert and coffee, he got up to leave. The waiter stopped him with a bill. Said John in exasperation: I never ordered this bill. Why have you brought it to me? Most of us live our life like John. We have no recollection of asking for the bill as we go on desring about acquisitions and expectations of acquisitions. When the bill does finally arrive we are startled, and depressed as this is not part of our expectation. Desires are not harmful by themselves. Desires are energy, as long as the desires are your true deep desires. Problem is that most of our desires are borrowed. They arise out of jealousy and greed and nothing to do with what we need. Ramana Maharishi said about this beautifully: The Universe can cater to the needs of every single inhabitant. However, it can not fulfill the wants of even one single person. In your own life, just think of all the things you wish for right now. Make a list. Now make a list of the things that you already have. Which list makes you happy, and which list makes you uneasy? The answer is obvious. Why don’t we focus on what we have, offer gratitude to the Universe for providing all that we have instead of worrying about what we don’t have? Whether we want to keep begging for more or be thankful for what we have is a choice that we make. It is a choice between happiness and sorrow. PARAMAHAMSA  NITHYANANDA